A Place to Belong
written by phoenix flight (only half of the chapters are here i'm still sorting it out, and the coding isn't done eiTHER) font: Moon Flower (if you don't have this installed then the page'll look horrible) 'prologue' // introduction "Snowkit? Snowkit, please wake up!" the queen wailed desperately. She had her face buried into the fur of a small white kit. Her mournful cries echoed throughout the cave. The grey she-cat sitting near the queen dipped her head. "I'm so sorry." "He was named for the snow..." whispered the queen, gazing down at her kit with sorrowful eyes. "A-and... the snow ended up killing him..." Another piercing wail rose from the queen's throat. The snow outside continued to fall silently. The grey she-cat laid her tail across the grieving queen's shoulders. "Birchtail... If I said I understood how you feel right now, I would be lying. But believe me when I say that this isn't your fault." Her voice was soft, as if she were comforting a kit. That's how it felt - as if she were consoling an injured kit. It pained her to see her sister so upset. "How wasn't it my fault, Greytuft?" Birchtail choked out, her claws scraping across the stone floor. "My only son... he's dead!" "It wasn't your fault, Birchtail!" snapped Greytuft, her tail lashing. Birchtail stared up at her sister, green eyes wide. She had never heard Greytuft sound so angry. "It wasn't your fault." Greytuft repeated in a calmer tone. "Snowkit was weaker than other kits from the beginning, and he couldn't survive this leafbare." Bowing her head she murmured, "Cherrypaw predicted it." "Wh...what?" Birchtail blinked in confusion. "Cherrypaw... the medicine cat's apprentice?" Her eyes flared in anger. "He predicted this and didn't tell me!? That stupid tom! I'll flay him!" She sprang to her paws. "He's going to die at my claws!" she declared, storming toward the exit. Greytuft glanced sideways at the dead Snowkit. She started to hiss at Birchtail to stop, then stopped. "B-Birchtail...!" she gasped. The dark grey queen whipped around, her fur bristling. "What is it?" Then she looked down at her kit and froze, her breath hitching. Snowkit's flanks had started to rise and fall, very slightly. "He's alive." Birchtail whispered. Forgetting all about her rage against Cherrypaw, she rushed over to Snowkit and curled herself around him in an attempt to warm him. While Birchtail licked Snowkit's fur, Greytuft stepped outside and fluffed her fur out as a cold wind rushed over her. White snowflakes still fell, and Greytuft shivered at the cold. The grey warrior padded lightly out onto the ice-covered river, trying not to break the ice. Once she'd crossed over, she broke into a run. "RiverClan!" she yowled breathlessly. "RiverClan, Birchtail and I are alive! We have returned!" Cats flooded out of dens to meet the she-cat, crowding around her and questioning her. "Greytuft! Thank StarClan!" "Where's Birchtail?" "Is she alright?" Greytuft quickly responded, "Yes. Birchtail is alright, but she has a kit. She's trying to keep him warm, so we need to bring her back." A brown tom yowled, "We'll send out a patrol, then! Greytuft, you should lead since you know where Birchtail is. Dustwhisker, Emberfur, and Heatherpaw will go with you." The three cats he had named nodded and followed Greytuft out of camp. As Greytuft led her Clanmates to the den where Birchtail and Snowkit were in, she could feel guilt rising inside of her. She hadn't told her own sister that her kit was going to die. 'chapter one' // innocence "Ivykit, Snowkit, you two be the prey!" Kestrelkit purred, fluffing out her tortoiseshell fur. "And me and Sorrelkit'll be the hunters!" "No fair!" Ivykit whined. "Why can't I switch with Sorrelkit?" Sorrelkit glared at her sister. "HeyheyHEY! It's been decided already! You don't see Snowkit whining, do you?" She gestured to the older white tomkit, who only looked down at his paws in response. "And that's 'cause Snowkit's a good sport." Kestrelkit blinked, then shouted, "Okay, time to staaaaart!" She crouched and her eyes flicked from Snowkit to Ivykit. After a few minutes, she sat up again, an annoyed look on her face. "Guuuuuyssss. The point of the game is that you're s'pposed to run while me and Sorrelkit chase you." she growled crossly. Ivykit rolled her eyes. "Well sor-''ry''. Maybe we didn't even want to be the prey in this game. Right, Snowkit?" She looked over at Snowkit. He nodded quickly. "Y-yeah! Maybe we didn't want to be the prey." Kestrelkit heaved a sigh. "Hey, you two would be terrible hunters! First off, Snowkit's waaaaaay too slow! And Ivykit is too fast - she'd catch us before you can say mouse." "How is being too fast a problem!?" Ivykit snapped, her fur rising. "Like she said," Sorrelkit yawned, "you'd catch us both before we could even get a step away. And that would be totally boring, don'tcha think?" She stood and looked over at Kestrelkit, her eyes shining. "Hey, hey, hey. I have..." She paused, as if she was trying to be dramatic. "AN IDEA!" she suddenly yowled, bouncing on her paws. "Let's ditch these depressing weirdos." "Great idea!" Kestrelkit was obviously agreeing to Sorrelkit's 'great idea'. Both of them strode toward the elders' den, talking loudly. Ivykit sighed and turned to look at Snowkit, a weak smile on her face. "Sorry about them." she mewed apologetically. "Being their sister is suffering..." She sighed again,and stood. She started to walk away, but stopped and glanced back at Snowkit.. "Really, though. Sorry, Snowkit." Then she stalked off toward the medicine cat's den. "It's okay." He called after her, his voice flat. It's not your fault anyway. he added silently. 'chapter two' // friendship Birchtail had left camp again, leaving Snowkit alone. Snowkit was now laying outside the nursery, trying to entertain himself by rolling a ball of moss under his paw. He hated being alone, but he often felt lonely now. Since he ate fresh-kill and didn't need to rely on Birchtail for food, the queen had left camp to patrol often. Kestrelkit and Sorrelkit hated him, and Ivykit was busy learning about herbs from the medicine cat. Snowkit twitched his tail, then swiped the moss ball away with a hiss of frustration. "Hey, Snowy. Are you okay?" Alarmed, Snowkit looked up to see Greytuft, Birchtail's sister. Instantly he brightened up and scampered over to the she-cat. "Hi, Greytuft!" he purred happily. Greytuft touched her nose to Snowkit's ear in greeting before meowing, "You didn't answer my question." "Oh, right... I'm a bit upset, that's it." Snowkit averted his eyes to the ground. "Ahh, I see. It's because you don't have anyone to play with, right?" Pricking his ears, Snowkit looked back up. He wasn't surprised that Greytuft had guessed his problem right - the two were closer than he was with Birchtail. The grey-pelted medicine cat would always find time in her day to visit him, so the two knew almost everything about each other. chapter three // games chapter four // dreamer chapter five // faith chapter six // inspiration chapter seven // start chapter eight // healing chapter nine // separation chapter ten // memories chapter eleven // troubling thoughts chapter twelve // dangerous territory chapter thirteen // a moment in time chapter fourteen // slow down chapter fifteen // summer haze chapter sixteen // burning ''' '''chapter seventeen // colors chapter eighteen // failure chapter nineteen // complicated chapter twenty // reflection chapter twenty-one // challenged chapter twenty-two // boundaries chapter twenty-three // answers chapter twenty-four // shadows chapter twenty-five // opportunities chapter twenty-six // never again chapter twenty-seven // bitter silence chapter twenty-eight // forever and a day chapter twenty-nine // lost and found chapter thirty // stirring of the wind chapter thirty-one // heartfelt apology chapter thirty-two // change in the weather chapter thirty-three // frost chapter thirty-four // at peace chapter thirty-five // nature's fury chapter thirty-six // out of time chapter thirty-seven // shades of grey chapter thirty-eight // cold embrace chapter thirty-nine // exhaustion chapter fourty // unbreakable chapter fourty-one // echoes chapter fourty-two // midnight chapter fourty-three // gunshot chapter fourty-four // falling chapter fourty-five // running away chapter fourty-six // love chapter fourty-seven // rivalry chapter fourty-eight // dead wrong chapter fourty-nine // fork in the road chapter fifty // a place to belong